HAIR

April 3, 2019

When Life Gives You Lemons, Wear Your Iro and Buba

Everyone knows the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." That's all well and good, and I understand that the premise behind it is to make the best out of bad situations. A lot of times, it can be easy to wallow in the negatives of life, so it makes sense to try and shoot for optimism and positivity. Sometimes though, life gives you lemons back to back to back to back and I don't care how much you like lemonade, you can get tired of it.

I was not kidding on Monday's April Fools post when I mentioned some of the things that weigh on my mind. I really want a better job in a career that I will love and enjoy. I really need a better income to give Cocoa my definition of a comfortable life (better than comfortable actually). I want her to go back to sleeping through the night. I want my skin to look like smooth chocolate. I want to get back down to my NYSC-era weight. I want collaborations and sponsored posts with global brands. I want my blog reach to get back to and surpass its peak. I want to be always on fire for God! I want to get back to trying out different hairstyles instead of wearing my simple bun most of the time.

Some of these things are admittedly trivial and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The point is that, my life as it currently is, is not what I thought it would be. It's lemon-y and I don't want lemonade! I'd rather have lemon cake!

How we all deal with life's issues and lemons is different and not one-size-fits-all. You might make lemonade out of your lemons - it's pretty quick and easy. Someone else might prefer to add vodka to their lemons - I don't know why, because vodka is yucky. Another person, like me, would rather a recipe that takes a little longer to make, but is just right for us. I am essentially saying that making the best out of situations looks different to everyone, and it's perfectly fine for you to decide how you want to make adjustments.

I have worn this yellow iro and buba before - even tried to hide my baby bump with it here. On this particular Sunday morning, I looked forward to wearing this outfit, and then I saw the weather report. The previous day was very warm, and I thought we were done with cold weather. However, life decided to throw a lemon my way with cold. I thought about changing my outfit completely, but instead found a way around it. I decided to pair my iro and buba with my thigh high boots and a blazer. Another person in my family would have preferred to wear a turtleneck and leggings. Still someone else may have styled it a different way. My approach worked for ME and I was happy with the results. I made my own version of a lemon dessert/sweet. And you can and should do the same when life gives you lemons. Happy Wednesday!

15 comments:

I actually love the idea of pairing the outfit with boots. Great creativity. I hear you on all your wants. I don't think it's trivial at all. At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself. God is good though. He will answer your hearts desire. Remember that after praying about it, you should take action. Pitch to brands , buy African black soap, promote yourself on socials, buy a new wig! Go all out!

I love all the action steps you gave - LOL. After I buy my blonde wig, no more wigs for me though - unless a brand wants me to wear - I WILL WEAR 2 WIGS A DAY FOR THAT. BUAHAHAHA

But I totally get your point. The truth of the matter is that I have the wants, but have not actively worked towards getting those things, so I have myself to blame for that. As much as God wants to bless me, He's not going to do the legwork for me. Thanks for speaking truth.

Love this! The truth is sometimes the lemons won't even cooperate with you and you can squeeze as hard as you can and get 2 drops!! I've been thinking about the purpose of every season, perhaps the purpose of the lemons is for resistance training- to build strength in your hands. When David got attacked by a lion and a bear he probably thought he was having on some crazy lemons thrown at him but by defeating those he was able to easily take down Goliath. I am learning to trust God in these lemon seasons.

Wow Nemi. I love your take on this subject! There are lessons to be learned during struggles and hard times. Sometimes it's building up faith. Sometimes it's learning to be resilient. Sometimes it's learning to depend on God. Sometimes we create our own lemons and must contend with the consequences and learn from our mistakes. We can learn from the lemon seasons - you're absolutely right.

Hi Berry, I like your posts and I just want to say that you should hang in there. I think you look good to be worried about your weight. Not to trivialise or invalidate your 'lemons', maybe you (we) should learn to focus on the positives of life; as inconsequential it may seem to you, it could be what other people may consider to be miracles. If you want affiliations with global brands, like you have just mentioned, I would advise that you keep an upbeat personality irrespective of what it is you think life is throwing at you. Cheers, much love! Adaeze/Manchester.

Soooo, I think that maybe I was not too clear with this post. Or maybe I did not effectively communicate my main point - which was in the final paragraph. We all have lemons in life, but we won't all make lemonade. I'll make lemon cake. My mum will mix hers with champagne. You might use the lemon peels to give your home a fresh scent. Essentially, what I was trying to say is that we all deal with life in different ways, and it's okay.

My analogy of my iro and buba, and pairing it with my boots and blazer because of the weather, was supposed to show that I found my own way around an obstacle.

So I may be down, but I'm not out. I'm just more willing to share the good and the bad.

I quite like the boots with the iro and buba! Also I wouldn't call any of those things you listed as trivial at all. I think it's all parts of what makes us whole. But yea, I definitely feel you on wanting the best for your blog haha. Also, we don't always have to have a positive outlook towards life. Sometimes, it's okay to work through the pain, to FEEL it, to experience it, and maybe even cry? It's exactly like you described: we all deal with life's lemons differently!